White House Opposes Congressional Bill to Restrict Nvidia AI Chip Exports to China

The White House is actively urging Congress to reject the proposed GAIN AI Act, which would impose strict limits on Nvidia and AMD's ability to sell advanced AI chips to China and other embargoed nations. This bipartisan legislation would require chipmakers to prioritize U.S. customers before exporting controlled chips overseas, but Nvidia has publicly argued that no American customers are experiencing shortages.

In response, the Trump administration is lobbying against the measure, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggesting that the U.S. might allow sales of Nvidia's Blackwell chips to China once they are no longer cutting-edge technology, potentially in 12 to 24 months. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated in a Bloomberg Television interview that the company's revenue forecast for China is currently zero, though he expressed interest in reentering the market.

Simultaneously, Congress is developing an alternative bill, the SAFE Act of 2025, which would codify existing AI chip export restrictions to China for 30 months and require the Commerce Department to deny applications for chips exceeding current limits. The GAIN AI Act faces uncertainty amid White House opposition, while some tech companies like Microsoft support it for ensuring access to advanced chips. This debate highlights growing congressional focus on semiconductor export policy amid U.S.-China tech competition.